Chopsticks are amazing tools, and not just when it comes to food. If a screw has outworn its welcome and started to sit loose, you can use a chopstick to make the screw hole usable again.
Photo by Yuya Tamai
Over time, the screws that hold your wooden furniture and whatnot can start to wear away at the wood that holds them in place. Christine Dinus at This Old House suggests you can make a screw hold tight again by filling the hole with a piece of chopstick:
Dip a chopstick into a little glue and insert into the screw hole. Let dry, then break off the rest of the stick to create a new spot for driving in the screw.
If you like to eat any Asian cuisine takeout, you probably have a few pairs lying around. Each chopstick can also be used multiple times (depending on the size of the hole), so it’s a great trick to keep in mind. Any glue will do, but for best results, go with carpenter’s wood glue. If the screw hole is too small for a chopstick, you can use toothpicks instead.
10 Uses for Chopsticks [This Old House via Apartment Therapy]
Comments
6 responses to “Fill Stripped Screw Holes With Leftover Chopsticks And Glue”
Sounds like it’s just the same as using a bit of dowel.
or a wooden golf tee
no one has pointed out the spelling mistake in the second sentence yet?
Nope
What exactly is a leftover chopstick?
I mean you can have leftover rice, leftover sushi and leftover nori rolls; but a leftover chopstick? Did you take seven and realise you only needed 2? Are the 5 really leftover, or are they just extras? What about the odd one – is it leftover or just a spare?
Isn’t this what matches are for? Got a bigger hole – use more matches.